


The Sea of Distortion

by CaitlynMellark



Series: ChasexAlphonse Stories [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, M/M, everybody getting sniped today
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 18:53:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17289521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaitlynMellark/pseuds/CaitlynMellark
Summary: ...So Omii and I's OCs are really doing stuff again





	The Sea of Distortion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sorceringing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorceringing/gifts).



He knew this day would finally come.

 

It seemed so far away back then... over a century of almost guaranteed time; it was a lot of time that was so far. But the years seemed to get faster and faster as the time passed on. The century seemed to be mere seconds. Then the century transformed to decades, years, months, weeks, days, hours... Now it all contracted into just a singular hour.

 

At least, that is what Alphonse told him, and Alphonse was never a great liar.

 

It wasn't noticeable at first. It was just gentle lags in thoughts, and tiny stutters in movement that had to be recalibrated. Then the LEDs would flicker randomly, and they'd forget a process in the middle of speaking. Then the calibrations became a daily routine just to make sure their movements stopped faltering.

 

They were both made the same year... Alphonse was just made earlier. February. Chase was made later, in May. The multiple month difference didn't show any difference capability wise, but it just gave Alphonse the counter Chase didn't see.

 

Red, with big letters and numbers telling him that even an android like himself could have a natural passing.

 

Chase, as natural, was panicked over that thought. He tried not to show it, as normal. However, they have spent too much time together for that to not be obvious to the VS400.

 

They tried to console each other in an attempt, but it was hard to hear each other when they were so focused on consoling the other.

 

After awhile, they just plopped into their bed in a natural pile of sorts that only long term lovers found themselves in. The HR300 gently let the other lay his head against his chest, his hand running through the brunette ruffles just like when they first met. Even after over a century, the texture was the same. Soft, fluffy, and perfect. That was a couple of hours ago.

 

His eyes ached a bit, even if there was no true feeling to it. He wanted to cry. He wanted to sob, and beg for his lover to live. However, there was no way to save him. Of course Chase could probably just rip out the other's memories and place them in a new android... an android with another century left in them; but Chase wouldn't do that. Chase didn't _want_  to do that. He didn't want his love's memories in another android body. He wanted Alphonse.

 

His hand continued to run through his hair in a bit of silence. The VS400 seemed peaceful, just laying there. It was expected for him to do so; he was usually the more positive one. Always happy, always positive... Even when he didn't want to be.

 

It just seemed like yesterday that they met on that rusty boat. Yesterday that Chase had no free will or emotion. Yesterday that they became free. Yesterday that he broke free from those constraints and fell in love with the VS400. Yesterday that the love was reciprocated and they got together.

 

It just seemed like yesterday that they got engaged. Yesterday that they got married. Yesterday that they got a place together that they could _truly_  call home instead of an android safe house. Yesterday that they got to slowly experience things together that only really humans or Tracis could understand. Yesterday that he let the other man truly stare at all of the tattoos on his body, and he got to _explain_ what they meant. Yesterday that they got to sort of run away from their jobs for a bit just to explore.

 

Seeing more of what the world had to offer with the one he loved gave Chase such a deep joy and happiness that he never expected... a Traci to be able to obtain.

 

To see the way Alphonse smiled so brightly when he saw things made Chase feel... alive. It made his thirium pump swell and it only brought a smile onto his own face. To see his husband finally live a life of happiness gave Chase the same happiness in return.

 

Chase knew nothing of what humans did with each other on things such as dates, honeymoons, or any of that like. All he knew was that he and Alphonse did more. They explored... they learned... they were truly happy.

 

They weren't perfect. That would be stupid to lie about. They had fights. They had fights over jealousy... over the other self deprecating themselves... over petty day to day stuff if they were stressed... They spent nights away from each other. They had nights of silence, and tension. They had days where they avoided each other. They had nights in which they feared of losing the other over something petty and small. They had nights in which they'd hesitantly crawl into bed and silently lay against the other. They had mornings in which they had to have dreaded talks that made their LEDs yellow or red, but they had to do it if they wanted to get over it.

 

With even all of this though, he worried. He worried that Alphonse's life wasn't the best it could have been. Maybe Alphonse would have been happier without him... but even the thought sounded stupid. The smile that Alphonse always wore with Chase said otherwise. The cute excitement in his voice said otherwise. The brightness in his blue eyes when he saw something said otherwise.

 

Chase gave him the best life he could offer, and he could only hope that it was truly the best for him. He hoped so dearly that what Alphonse experienced was _good_. That what he experienced was everything he could have hoped for... It was beyond what Chase could have ever hoped for himself.

 

"I love you, Al," Chase mumbled in the softest, meekest voice to break the silence. He nuzzled his face into the VS400's hair a bit.

 

"I love you too," Alphonse mumbled. He sounded normal, but it was the last hour. Chase knew his voice would get worse, but he... at least got to hear that normally. He has heard Alphonse say those words over a billion times, but this time was important. It was truly important.

 

It was silent a few moments before Chase gained the courage to speak again. His voice was shaky, but he asked. "Were... you happy?"

 

Alphonse let out a soft laugh, his body relaxing a bit more against Chase. "Of course I was happy. You were there most of it."

 

"You sure?" he mumbled.

 

"I'm pretty sure," the other let out the soft laugh again, "You don't have to worry about how happy I was. I was happy."

 

Chase continued to stroke his hair, keeping his face in it.

 

Most of the 'older' androids were gone now. He heard in the news when Markus passed away. It was just a few years back, but he passed away peacefully. At least, that is what his lovers said. Then one of them passed away a few years after that. One of them would pass next year, if he remembered correctly. A year after Alphonse, in February. And the WR400 would pass when all the other Tracis would in two years.

 

Others have passed, but they weren't as history moving as Markus and the others. Chase doubted anybody would notice Alphonse or himself passing aside from friends who would also pass within the next few years.

 

Maybe it was better that way. Chase was not sure. The last three months of his life will be agonizing. Not physically, but he will miss Alphonse more than he could ever know.

 

"...Do you think there is something?" Chase mumbled softly.

 

"Eh," Alphonse mumbled, "I believe there is... something. Just not entirely sure what."

 

"..."

 

"Why do you ask? You wanna send me love letters?" Alphonse joked, "I'd love some of those."

 

Chase's hand gently went to Alphonse's cheek, his thumb gently stroking it as he thought. It hurt just how much he loved the man next to him. Maybe it was stupid to love someone so much, but Alphonse was just... perfect. He'd fight against it until the end of time, but Chase knew he was perfect. He was so kind... so handsome... so loving... He loved a... Traci out of all models... He was beyond perfect.

 

"...It'd be selfish to ask," Chase mumbled.

 

"Be selfish, then," Alphonse softly laughed again, "You didn't live this long to not be selfish."

 

"...Then... If I somehow find you again..." Chase mumbled, his eyes shutting a bit tighter as he buried his face more into the VS400's hair. Soft, fluffy ruffles. Ruffles he'd never get to feel or smell again. "...Will you hold my hand?"

 

"I'd do way more than just hold your hand," he laughed, but then it faded. After a few moments of silence, he sighed softly. Chase was unsure if it was in content or seriousness. "Of course I'll hold your hand."

 

"Thank you," Chase whispered, keeping the other close to his chest still.

 

He would miss all of this. He would miss holding his husband close. He would miss being able to feel the other close to him at night. He'd miss being able to rest mode, and then wake up to the other getting ready for work like they used to. He'd truly miss every little thing that made them... _them_. Chase would miss what made him whole. His other half would soon leave him.

 

"How much longer?" Chase asked, his voice barely able to ask the question.

 

"Thirty three minutes, fourteen seconds," Alphonse mumbled, looking up at Chase.

 

It broke his thirium pump to see Alphonse's eyes stare at him again. He looked fine, but he could almost see the countdown in the other's eyes. It caused him to finally tear up, his thumb shakily stroking his cheek still. The only upside to Alphonse passing first is that he wouldn't have to live without Chase. Chase could bear the loneliness if he truly tried. Alphonse would want that.

 

"It's okay," Alphonse mumbled, "Come on, you have a pretty smile. I'd like to see it." It wasn't unusual for the VS400 to mention that. Usually when Chase was upset, he'd mention that. Chase usually did something similar when Alphonse was upset, but he usually said something like, 'You have a beautiful smile. You wanna show me?'.

 

"It hurts," Chase's voice cracked a little bit, shaky as it exited his mouth. His chest felt constricted, but he made sure the other stayed on it. "It hurts really bad."

 

"I know," Alphonse mumbled, continuing to watch him closely, "I know..." He softly smiled, "Next time, I'll tell them to make us at the same time."

 

Chase's voice choked out again, but it was intangible noise. He had already lost people he cared about. Emma died a very, very long time ago. Chase barely remembered it. It wasn't something she could tell them about or anything. She had no shutdown counter like everyone else. Just, one day... she was gone. Ryker... they passed just years ago. They seemed a bit reluctant to have anybody, but Chase and Messi wanted to give them company. And small little Messi... she asked for him to be there. And he was.

 

Of course others still lived. Wanda would pass the same time he would, seeing as she was just his gender counterpart. Blair would live a couple years more, and perish when the other Tracis would.

 

It was all calculated out for them already. It didn't actually make passing any scarier or less scary... it remained the same. They just now knew of when things happened. Maybe not specific days, but months... the year...

 

Chase was tired. Not of living... he wished to live as long as possible with everybody. He was tired of the ones he truly cared about dying. He was tired of seeing them die, even if it just meant their lives were fulfilled. He was so tired of seeing them pass, again and again.

 

"It's alright," Alphonse mumbled from Chase's noise, "Come on. Just try to smile, okay? Smiling makes the pain go away, I promise."

 

It was not a promise Alphonse could keep, nor was it one that was true. However, Chase couldn't disappoint him. Not when he's spent his entire life giving the other happiness. The least Chase could do was make him happy in return.

 

His arm held Alphonse a bit closer as his lips forced a smile. He could only imagine how he looked. A forced smile with teary eyes. He was shaking by that point, and it probably made him look like a disaster.

 

However, Alphonse gently smiled in return, as he always would. Always positive... "There's a disaster," he softly laughed, "A disaster with a very pretty smile."

 

"That's you, and you know that," Chase's voice choked out.

 

"You can cry if you want, you know," Alphonse whispered, his voice glitching a moment. The damned glitches that signaled oncoming shutdown.

 

And that is what finally made Chase cry. Not Alphonse allowing him to, but hearing his husband's voice glitch was confirmation of the end. Confirmation that everything up to this point would end soon, and that Alphonse would be gone.

 

"It's okay," Alphonse whispered within glitches, his body shuddering like an old machine awakening from years of deactivation. He gently rubbed Chase's cheek in the same way he rubbed his.

 

"No it isn't," Chase forced out, his eyes shutting tightly. He didn't want to cry at all, not before Alphonse was gone. He couldn't stop it, though. They just kept flowing, and they just would _not_ stop. "How can any of this be okay?"

 

"Because we can't just... live on forever," Alphonse's voice glitched once again, "I was happy with you. And... I can only hope you were happy with me."

 

"Of course... I was happy... with you..." Chase whispered through the tears, "Of course I was happy... Nothing made me happier..."

 

"And I love that you've been happy," Alphonse whispered in his distortion. He gently held Chase's hand, letting their fingers entwine while trying to think, even if he continued to glitch. "I'll hold your hand, almost like this when I see you again, alright?"

 

Chase's hazel eyes opened and stared at their hands. His fingers gently squeezed Alphonse's hand, letting out a soft and choked cry. "Mhm..." He shook a bit. "I shouldn't be this pathetic," he whispered, "You're literally dying."

 

"It's alright," Alphonse immediately whispered in return, his voice progressively getting worse, "You're not happy. You're not happy, and that is normal. You're upset because of this."

 

It felt so nostalgic for Alphonse to try to explain what he felt. He did this when he first was becoming deviant, and did it whenever Chase was confused. Whenever Chase _felt_  something, Alphonse tried to explain it. Chase has lived a long life, and yet he was still being given explanations from his love.

 

Chase moved Alphonse's hand to his mouth, placing a kiss on it as more tears fell. He kept his fingers entwined with the other's, keeping his lips on his hand.

 

Alphonse laid his head back down on Chase, keeping his eyes on him. The red kept burning Chase's eyes while he stared at him. He could only imagine the red that pierced Alphonse's vision... the errors, the warnings...

 

After a few minutes of silence, Alphonse's distorted and deepened voice whispered, "I'm scared."

 

Chase watched him still, the tears flowing a bit more. Alphonse's body let out a nervous sort of laugh, and his face looked like it was nervous. "Never thought I could... say to you that I was afraid of dying. I wish... I didn't have to."

 

"I... wish you didn't have to either," Chase choked out softly, "It... will be okay... You've been so amazing... if there is anything, I know you'll get everything."

 

Alphonse let out another soft, distorted laugh. "I can't have everything. You'll still be here for awhile." As always, he was being positive. So positive... and Chase wished it could stay.

 

Chase pressed his lips against his hand once again, his thumb running over it gently. If nothing else, he wanted Alphonse to know how deeply he loved him. He didn't want him to know how constricted his chest felt, or how broken his voice felt, or how much he wanted to end it with him, or how many tears wanted to fall, or even how much he wanted to scream; he wanted Alphonse to know how deeply Chase loved him.

 

"How long?" Chase choked out again, like before.

 

"Three minutes, thirty seven seconds," Alphonse's voice distorted, and something unexpected appeared: tears. Alphonse always tried not to cry if it was obvious Chase was upset. He was the positive one, and always forced himself to be. The tears in his eyes now, however, said otherwise.

 

"Al...?" Chase mumbled, watching him.

 

"Ha... Sorry," Alphonse mumbled within glitches, "You're already crying, I... I just am scared still. I am scared, and I am... upset too."

 

"You can cry," Chase whispered, putting his forehead gently on his. He wanted to be so much closer to him...

 

The skin on his hand gently receded, even if it was harder to do than when they weren't as old. Alphonse's skin receded from his hand in return, and his eyes closed. Chase's eyes closed in return, trying to send every emotion of love to him. He wanted him to truly understand just how much he was loved. How much he truly _impacted_ the Traci's life. How it wouldn't be the same until they were reunited again.

 

Chase felt Alphonse try to transfer his own love in return, but he kept shaking. Chase absolutely hated that his lover was being broken like this. "I love you, Al," Chase whispered, trying to not choke on his cries again.

 

"I love... you too... Chase..." Alphonse mumbled in almost unintelligible, deep distortion.

 

Chase's hand gently squeezed his again, continuing to try to transfer as much love as he could. He gently kissed his husband, even if it hurt. Even if it hurt every bit of his body, he had to. He could feel the kiss back, and he loved it for the few moments it lasted.

 

Then it ended, and Chase shook as he looked back at the VS400.

 

His LED finally was gray, and his eyes were shut. Chase cried out a moment, placing Alphonse's hand against his forehead. "Please," he begged softly, "Please let him be fucking happy, please... It's all I want..."

 

He spent the next few hours gently holding his husband, stroking his hair or his damaged cheek randomly. His own LED flickered red, but this time it had reason to flicker besides old age.

 

After awhile, he placed another tattoo on himself. He already had four on him for various reasons that only few people knew. All of those people were, now, dead. His fifth and final tattoo...

 

Chase had seen Alphonse write a few times. He himself didn't have much use for it, but Alphonse's writing was... Beautiful. Not overly fancy, but it was beautiful. Elegant... but with bits of disaster in it, just like the man who wrote.

 

Androids did not need ink or anything with tattoos, and Chase never got any of those 'exoskeleton carved' tattoos either. His were digitally on his skin, and he could remove them if he wanted. But all of them meant something to him.

 

The new tattoo he placed on his chest... his new tattoo... It was in Alphonse's handwriting, and it only stated:

 

**_Alphonse, my husband._ **

**_2/2033 - 2/2206_ **

 

And Chase missed him.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It would be time soon. The shutdown counter appeared a couple hours ago.

 

He thought he'd feel relief in something he's wanted for three months, but... he was scared. Scared that maybe there truly was nothing, and that dying was just... nothing. He assumed that was better than being here without his husband, but it still worried him.

 

He has spent a lot of time staring at his new tattoo in the mirror... spent a lot of time thinking about Alphonse's death. His own seemed so far away, and yet there it was.

 

They had a small funeral for Alphonse. It was pretty, and it was _him._ Words were said, and Alphonse was lowered into the ground. Chase was unsure if androids even should be buried, but his beautiful husband looked peaceful.

 

He called Wanda and Blair over. He didn't... want to be alone. Maybe it was selfish to want others over... especially when one of them was probably dying at the same time, if not sooner or later.

 

They came over, and Wanda definitely was frazzled. Blair was... Blair, alright. Still feisty, and still  _her._

 

They spoke a while about things that didn't really matter. Maybe they never would have mattered, even if they could live.

 

The counter kept going down, and down. Chase barely tried to pay attention to it, even as his voice started to distort and glitch. The glitching in his voice caused him to tear up though, remembering when Alphonse's voice did that.

 

Wanda's voice did it as well, so her own passing was close too. It was to be expected, though. She was a WR300... and he was just her gender counterpart. She looked so pretty though... always pretty. He always loved her like the sister she was to him. She was always so _good_  to him... He can only hope he made her happy too.

 

Her LED slowly went out when he had five minutes left on his countdown. It only gave Chase more worry, if anything. Now Wanda was gone too... and he was so tired of seeing others leave.

 

His teary eyes looked at Blair, who seemed the slightest bit shaken by Wanda's passing, but she said nothing about it.

 

Even with Blair there, though, he felt alone. Maybe it was because nothing said was meaningful. It was not a meaningful or memorable way to die. He just wished for Alphonse to be here, but he wasn't.

 

"I know I am not him, but come on," Blair tried to joke, "I am not that bad."

 

"...I'm... sorry..." Chase's distorted voice mumbled.

 

"Look, just think of it this way, if there is some shit after all of this, he's probably there waiting for you. Maybe. I... dunno," Blair mumbled, seeming flustered at the end. She wasn't the best with kind words, and he knew that.

 

"...Waiting..." Chase's voice glitched.

 

**Shutdown: 2:48**

 

"Yeah. Waiting," Blair mumbled, sighing, "And you two better not have too much fun before I get there. If I find out you and him, and even Wanda are partying without me, I will fight you all personally."

 

"Heh... Of... course..." Chase glitched out, even if he was unsure he'd ever see any of them ever again.

 

The silence ensued.

 

**Shutdown: 1:14**

 

"...Will you... be alright... Blair?" Chase asked in a sea of glitches.

 

"Of course I will be," Blair scoffed, even as her face worried, "Other Tracis still live and junk. I'll be fine. Like I said, though... don't have too much fun before I get there."

 

Chase watched her, even with the red errors and counters blocking his vision. Blair was pretty too. He hoped she'd be happy also. She was a good person...

 

**Shutdown: 0:15**

 

Even after all these years of life, he didn't know if his was the best. He never was good at knowing how life worked. That was when Alphonse had to explain things to him.

 

**Shutdown: 0:10**

 

Even as he died, Alphonse had to explain to Chase what he felt and how things were. He knew Alphonse enjoyed it, but he still worried. All Chase knew though...

 

**Shutdown: 0:05**

 

...was that he was happy with his life.

 

**Deactivated...**

 

...

...

...

...

...

 

_Then a warm hand held his._


End file.
